Welcome to Medical News Today

Healthline Media, Inc. would like to process and share personal data (e.g., mobile ad id) and data about your use of our site (e.g., content interests) with our third party partners (see a current list) using cookies and similar automatic collection tools in order to a) personalize content and/or offers on our site or other sites, b) communicate with you upon request, and/or c) for additional reasons upon notice and, when applicable, with your consent.

Healthline Media, Inc. is based in and operates this site from the United States. Any data you provide will be primarily stored and processed in the United States, pursuant to the laws of the United States, which may provide lesser privacy protections than European Economic Area countries.

By clicking “accept” below, you acknowledge and grant your consent for these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form. Learn more in our Privacy Policy.

Please accept our privacy terms

We use cookies and similar technologies to improve your browsing experience, personalize content and offers, show targeted ads, analyze traffic, and better understand you. We may share your information with third-party partners for marketing purposes. To learn more and make choices about data use, visit our Advertising Policy and Privacy Policy. By clicking “Accept and Continue” below, (1) you consent to these activities unless and until you withdraw your consent using our rights request form, and (2) you consent to allow your data to be transferred, processed, and stored in the United States.

Get the MNT newsletter

Email an article

You have chosen to share the following article:

How elderberries can help you fight the flu

To proceed, simply complete the form below, and a link to the article will be sent by email on your behalf.Note: Please don't include any URLs in your comments, as they will be removed upon submission.

We do not store details you enter into this form. Please see our privacy policy for more information.

According to lead investigator Prof. Rebecca Fitzgerald, "We urgently need to develop new tools, like this breath test, which could help to detect and diagnose cancer earlier, giving patients the best chance of surviving their disease."

"Through this clinical trial we hope to find signatures in breath needed to detect cancers earlier — it's the crucial next step in developing this technology," she adds.

"Owlstone Medical's Breath Biopsy technology is the first to test across multiple cancer types, potentially paving the way for a universal breath test," explains Prof. Fitzgerald.

'Providing a whole-body snapshot'

The authors explain that, during their natural processes, cells release a range of VOCs — but if they undergo mutations, this will alter the kinds of molecules they produce.

For this trial, the investigators are recruiting people at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge to be tested for one of these forms of cancer.

The participants will receive the innovative breath test first, and then they will undergo traditional diagnostic methods. This will allow the researchers to confirm the accuracy and effectiveness of Owlstone Medical's Breath Biopsy.

"There is increasing potential for breath-based tests to aid diagnosis, sitting alongside blood and urine tests in an effort to help doctors detect and treat disease," says Billy Boyle, co-founder and CEO at Owlstone Medical.

"The concept of providing a whole-body snapshot in a completely noninvasive way is very powerful and could reduce harm by sparing patients from more invasive tests that they don't need."

Billy Boyle

'Potential to revolutionize'

So far, those who have registered for this trial seem to have had no difficulty while undergoing this new test.

Rebecca Coldrick, a 54-year-old woman participating in the trial, has Barrett's esophagus. This is a condition in which cells lining the oesophagus have undergone mutations.

Barrett's esophagus places her at a higher risk of developing a form of cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, so she needs to keep on screening for developments.

"Every 2 years I have an endoscopy to monitor my condition," explains Coldrick. She chose to join the PAN trial, and she notes that her experience with the new breath test was a positive one.

"Initially," she says, "I thought I might feel a bit claustrophobic wearing the mask, but I didn't at all. I found watching the display on the computer during the test interesting and soon we were done, without any discomfort."

"I think the more research done to monitor conditions like mine and the kinder the detection tests developed, the better," Coldrick adds.

The Cancer Research UK investigators are very hopeful about this clinical trial and believe that the new technology will improve diagnostic processes.

"Technologies such as this breath test have the potential to revolutionize the way we detect and diagnose cancer in the future," emphasizes Dr. David Crosby, head of early detection research at Cancer Research UK.

2019 Healthline Media UK Ltd. All rights reserved. MNT is the registered trade mark of Healthline Media. Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional.